Lady Trojans Tori Muñoz (6) and Niki Longoria get out of the way of a kick off the toe of a Cedar Park player during Friday night’s Region IV semifinals. The Lady Trojans fought the Lady Timberwolves to a 0-0 tie through the first 40 minutes, but the state’s second-ranked 4A Cedar Park girls scored three in the second half to advance to the Region IV finals.

CORPUS CHRISTI – A long up and down season for the Lady Trojan soccer team has come to an end. The Beeville girls again shocked the South Texas area by making it back to the Region IV semifinals.

The Lady Trojans finished third in District 30-4A play, but far out-lasted both teams that finished ahead of them in the district standings. The girls finished the season at 15-9-6.

The second-ranked team in state, the Leander Cedar Park Timberwolves, were Beeville’s opponent in the semifinals for the second straight year. The Lady Timberwolves were dominating their bracket with shutout wins by big scores in their playoff run.

The Lady Trojans put forth a strong effort and kept the Wolves at bay through the entire 40 minutes of the first half. It was still anyone’s game at 0-0 heading into the second half.

The wind was now in favor of Cedar Park and that was just the little help they needed. A goal on a header off a corner kick made it 1-0 Cedar Park with just a few minutes gone in the second half. Two more goals from the pressure offense employed by the Timberwolves were spread over the final 20 to 30 minutes.

The outnumbered Lady Trojans played gallantly and tried to come back. Beeville had a few opportunities, but shots went wide, high or hit the bar. The Cedar Park girls passed with great efficiency, seemingly always hitting their mark, and kept the ball away from the Lady Trojans. They played a strong offensive game but were no slouches on defense either.

The Timberwolves got just one shot on goal the first half as did the Lady Trojans. In the second half, the fresher Timberwolves attempted 14 shots on goal to one for the Beeville girls.

Kayci Griffin scored the first two of Cedar Park’s goals and Nicole Burgett added a late score.

Cedar Park substituted frequently throughout the contest with its 20-plus player roster, but the Beeville squad of 13 held its own with just a few substitutions.

The Lady Trojans’ season was one of atonement and justification for a small group of senior girls who played well together and have done so for many years.

Cedar Park raised its record to 21-3-2 after the win over the Lady Trojans. On Saturday, they came from behind to defeat a tough Alamo Heights team 4-2 to earn a spot in the state tournament on April 18 and 20 in Georgetown. The final four this year in girls’ 4A soccer included Denton Guyer, Highland Park, Magnolia and Cedar Park.

“You can’t take anything away from our team,” said head coach Don Ledesma after the semifinal game.